


The Godmother

by Lady_Blackwater



Series: Oakland's Very Own [7]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Domestic Bliss, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Erik Killmonger Has Feelings, Erik Killmonger Lives, Erik Killmonger Redemption, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Old Married Couple, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Parenthood, Relationship Discussions, Soft Erik Killmonger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:21:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23431615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Blackwater/pseuds/Lady_Blackwater
Summary: An unexpected visit from Sienna's godson brings upon changes she and Erik didn't know they were ready for: real nigga shit.
Relationships: Erik Killmonger/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Oakland's Very Own [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1353331
Comments: 7
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A little something for my quarantined Erik Killmonger stans. Wash your hands and stay the fuck inside.

It’s been a long day. 

A full ten hours of dressing, installing and styling wigs, and applying makeup to twenty video vixens has Sienna’s body ready to give out. The check is totally worth the excruciating work, so she can’t complain about that, but if she could, she’d never move again. She doesn’t even bother taking her travel case full of supplies out of the trunk and heads right into the house with one mission of relaxation in mind.

The gigantic bed occupying a half-naked Erik watching _NCIS_ momentarily distracts her from starting a hot bath to ease the ache in her back, shoulders, and neck. 

“Wassup,” he greets when she shuffles through the door, tosses her purse somewhere, and plops onto the bed with a thud. “How was it?” 

“I never wanna touch another wig again,” she tells him, words muffled with her face pressed into the comforter. “I never wanna apply another lash, foundation match, or none of that shit ever again. I’m tired. Ten hours, E. _Ten_. I quit.” 

“As long as that check clear, we good,” Erik snickers and nudges her limp body with his foot. “You eat?” 

“Yeah. I just want a bath.”

“You need a shower.” He pauses the show and climbs out of bed towards the bathroom. “I don’t need you up in here carrying around that coronavirus shit.” 

The faucet is running and spewing water onto the shower tile a moment later, so she begins stripping out of her leggings, sneakers, and hoodie. “I doubt you gon’ find coronavirus on a rap video shoot,” she says, putting her clothes into the hamper. “Maybe herpes, though.” 

“Well, whatever the fuck it is, you need to wash it up off you,” he insists. He lands a loud slap right on her exposed ass when he reenters the bedroom.

She pretends to lunge at him and shakes her head with a fond smile. “Can I get a massage when I get out?” 

“You asking for a lot.” 

“Please, baby?” Her puppy dog eyes are in full effect with her bottom lip puffed out adorably and jeweled purple nails running along his bumpy arm. “ _Please_?”

“Get yo’ begging ass on,” he says, using his full weight to push her into the bathroom and shutting it behind her. “Wash that set up off you first!” 

Sienna gladly does as she’s told, scrubbing her body squeaky clean with her exfoliating washcloth and letting the warm water seep through her twist-out that’s long overdue for a wash. After doing her nightly skin care routine and putting her damp hair in a slick back bun under a scarf and bonnet, she practically skips back into the bedroom to do what she does best: annoy Erik. 

Sienna, clad in novelty boxer briefs and a dingy white t-shirt with her high school logo on it, lays out beside him and bats her eyelashes up at him. “Massage?” 

He scoffs. “How you get out the shower and not immediately put lotion on? Talmbout a massage…” His sentence trails off.

“Well, massages include lotion and oil so _please_ ? My body hurts. _Please_?”

“You gon bother me all night?” 

Sienna’s lashes flutter even faster. “ _Please_ , baby? I been up on my feet a whole ten hours.” 

Erik looks over at her and sucks his teeth. “Always wanting something,” he mutters in the most put-on annoyed tone he’s got. He can pretend he doesn’t enjoy doting on Sienna all he wants, but she knows the truth. 

Despite his feigned irritation, Erik is already rubbing lotion into his palms and caressing Sienna’s feet. She can’t help moaning at the pressure. 

“Damn, baby,” she purrs, digging herself deeper into the comforters and inhaling Erik’s cologne intertwined with laundry detergent. “ _Thank you._ ” 

He hums in acknowledgement and continues massaging between her toes, down her ankles and pressing deep into her thick calves with caring hands. 

“What you do today?” she asks, grabbing a pillow to cuddle close, halfway to sleep already.

“Kicked it with Jayden and ‘nem. You know he invited us to a little housewarming party,” he answers, squeezing the backs of her thighs and sneaking his fingers beneath the surface of the boxer shorts to massage the tender hidden skin of her behind.

“When’s that?” 

“Next weekend.” 

“You wanna go?” 

Erik shrugs and adjusts himself atop Sienna's thighs to reach her back. “I don’t really know if it's a housewarming if he just moving into an apartment. It’s more of an apartment warming.” 

“I mean it’s something. I think we should go. I like Jayden—he the only one of your homeboys who don’t get on my nerves.”

Erik shakes his head, digging his hands around Sienna’s waist and cupping her love handles. “Yeah, let him hear you say that and he gon’ be tryna steal yo ass from me.” 

“Boy, shut up.” Sienna snickers, nudging her waist upward. “Rub on my booty some more so I can go to sleep.” 

“What’s the magic word, Thickums?” he teases even as his hands descend to her cheeks to comply.

“Now.” 

Without warning, a powerful swat comes down on her right cheek, sending her squirming away with a delighted laugh. 

“You gon’ stop putting hands on me!” she giggles, twisting her upper body about to meet his gaze. “Rough ass nigga.” 

“You ain’t got no manners.” 

“Fine. _Please,_ rub my booty so I can fall asleep?”

“Need to teach your ass a lesson,” he threatens, creeping under her shorts to soothe the spot he hit with lotion. “You spoiled—that’s your problem.” 

“Yeah, a’ight,” Sienna responds in a weak imitation of his favorite phrase and lays her head back down to rest. “You complain, but you not gon’ do shit.” 

“Say I won’t.” 

“You won’t.” 

Because she knows her man better than anything, Sienna is prepared for the slap on her left cheek and falling into another fit of giggles as Erik rolls his eyes. 

“Always thinking somebody playing with your goofy ass.” His hands continue their journey across Sienna’s backside, squeezing and rubbing like it’s his first time ever touching her. 

“ _Ooh_ , thank you, baby…” she slurs, content with her bottom half turning to jelly with each stroke and glide of his palms. “Can’t nobody say you not good at nothing. You should’ve been a masseuse.” 

“Yeah, I don’t know ‘bout all that,” he disagrees then considers it for a moment. “I don’t think it’s gon sit right with me if I gotta rub down a colonizer. Fuck around and get lice.” 

Sienna snorts into the pillow. “You so dumb.” 

“I’m serious, though.” 

“A'ight, so no white people.” 

“No, niggas either.” 

“So, that leave just black and Asian girls. I bet you be happy as a bitch with that, huh?”

Erik snickers, sliding his hands out of her shorts to jiggle her lower body about. “I’m not gon’ find no Asian girl with ass like this, so I’ma stick with my own kind.” 

“Oh, so you'd only become a masseuse to touch up on other bitches’ asses?” 

“You would too, witcho gay ass.” He climbs over to utter directly into her ear and bite at her cheek. 

Sienna squeals, hiding herself in the pillow despite being encased by his large arms and wide shoulders. “I’m pansexual,” she corrects him, adjusting herself to be on her back and face him. 

“Shit, my bad,” he says, kissing her jaw and then nibbling on her earlobe. “You would too, witcho pansexual ass.” 

Sienna squeals again when his soft lips reach her neck and leave a trail of kisses and love marks across the expanse of her collarbone. Her thighs separate and naturally, Erik sets himself between them and continues sucking on her skin. It sends tiny bolts of electricity to every tip of her nerves and what once clouded her mind with sleep has now been taken over by lust. 

“When you gon’ let me put my dick in your butt?” she asks, propping up on her elbows to catch his reaction.

Like usual, Erik is unfazed and barely spares a glance up at her. “When you let me put my dick in yours.” 

Sienna laughs again, beckoning him to her with a finger. Erik’s lips are merely centimeters from hers in seconds and she plunges in tongue first to taste him. Their kisses mix with heavy pants and moans that encourage Sienna to reach for the band of his joggers to pull out what she’s craving most. He’s on his way to complying and doing the same with her until the hair on his neck stands at attention, setting off alarms in his head.

“Yo, you hear that?” Erik asks, lifting his head and staring at a particular spot on the wall in focus while his ears strain themselves.

“Hear what?” she says, not even remotely concerned as she wraps her hands on either side of Erik’s neck to maneuver his lips back to hers. “It was prolly the—”

He shakes his head and puts a finger to his lips. His body remains on top of Sienna’s, who grows annoyed every second he spends not making her feel good. After another minute of silence, she’s just about ready to complain aloud until they’re both startled by the slamming of a drawer followed by the patter of footsteps scurrying around the lower level. 

“Oh, fuck nah.” Erik heads to the closet and dons a long sleeve, socks, and slides, with a Smith & Wesson pistol in his hand before Sienna can get out of the bed. 

“What you finna do?” she questions, sliding on a pair of fuzzy slippers. Her irritation that someone decided to burglarize them— _them_ of all people!—moments before she was about to receive a well deserved back blow-out overcomes her initial fear.

“The fuck you think?” 

“Lemme make sure your trigger happy ass don’t kill nobody,” she says, crouching down behind the closet island to grab her designated pistol and click the safety off. “Fuck around and have a whole graveyard dealing with—”

The footsteps continue louder this time, silencing them both. Erik signals for Sienna to be quiet and raise her weapon, so she does, following close behind when he tiptoes through the hallway and down the stairs.

As they get closer, the rustling noise from the kitchen gets louder and they squint into the dark to try and make out a figure. It appears to be a male, about six feet tall if his illumination by the fridge’s light is anything to go by. Having gone undetected, they have the element of surprise when they enter the kitchen on either side of the oblivious intruder rummaging through the refrigerator. 

“Aye, put your hands up, turn around, and don’t move, bruh,” Erik demands calmly. The figure tenses, doing as he’s told and not so much as breathing too much when he places his hands in the air in surrender. “Turn the light on, baby.” 

With her weapon trained to the intruder, Sienna walks backwards to flick the switch. Bright white light floods the kitchen, revealing a surprise for the three of them. 

Erik and Sienna lower their weapons and cock their hands in the same direction when they take in Sienna’s guilt-stricken, fearful, and trembling godson. 

“ _CJ_?” they exclaim.

The teenager sheepishly turns around and his enlarged pupils flit between them shakily. “Hey,” he squeaks. 

“What the hell wrong with you, breaking in and sneaking around here like the Lil’ Nigga who Stole Christmas and shit?” Erik tucks his gun away in the waistband of his joggers, shaking his head. “Coulda fucked around and shot your lil’ skinny ass.”

“I’m sorry, E,” CJ apologizes and puts his hands down. “I ain’t know y’all was on some _Mr. & Mrs. Smith _kinda stuff around here.” 

Sienna clicks the safety off and sets her weapon on the counter. “CJ, what is going on and why are you breaking into people’s houses?” 

“I ain’t break into multiple houses so technically it’s not _people’s_ , ya know?” he tries to joke. He releases a nervous chuckle that dies out when his godmom and mentor stare back at him without so much as a smile.

His face falls in defeat. “Okay, fine, I ain’t wanna be up all night listening to my moms and her boyfriend go at it arguing and shit.” 

Sienna, stunned by CJ’s language, blinks through a passing thought and shakes her head now. “That doesn't mean you go breaking in places and stealing,” she tells him, closing the fridge. “You know better.”

His sad, brown eyes droop to the ground sheepishly. “I’m sorry, Sisi. I ain’t know where else to go.”

She analyzes him closer, taking in his slumped shoulders and dejected expression. “You hungry?”

He nods. 

“You ain’t eat today?” 

He shakes his head. 

Sienna steps closer to him, lifting his head with two fingers. 

“Why your mama ain’t feed you?”

CJ shrugs. “She just not been paying much attention lately,” he answers and looks away from her persistent stare. “She got other stuff to worry about.” 

“More than you?” Erik chimes in. 

CJ’s eyes cast downward again. “I’m used to it.”

Sienna nods up at him, understanding more than CJ is admitting. “Does she know you here right now?” 

“No.” 

“Does she know you even left the house?” 

“She usually doesn’t notice.” 

“Usually,” Sienna repeats incredulously, lifting his head again. “You do this often?” 

CJ nods silently then scrunches his face up. “Well, not really,” he admits. “This the first time I broke in somewhere. I usually spend the night with friends.” 

“They argue _that_ much?” 

CJ nods again. 

“So, what made tonight different?” Erik asks, crossing his arms. “Why you ain’t call one of us instead of doing all this?” 

“I don’t know, I just—” He frowns. “I didn’t wanna bother y’all.” 

Sienna tuts. “Well, you wouldn’t be bothering us if you needed somewhere to go,” she assures him, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly and forces her stare to bore into his soul. “You wanna stay here tonight?” 

The teenager doesn’t answer at first. He looks between them again, as though waiting for the punchline, but the question is genuine. 

“You sure?” 

“We not gon’ make you go back somewhere you not tryna be,” Erik says. “You can stay here for a lil’ bit and have your moms come get you if you want—” 

“ _No_ !” he exclaims. “Please, don’t call her. Her and Jerome gon’ be mad and I really don’t want them to know I be leaving, so _please_.” 

“We can’t just keep you here and _not_ say nothing, CJ,” Sienna says. 

“I know, but can I stay for just tonight and tell her everything tomorrow?”

Erik and Sienna regard him sympathetically before sharing a look between them that says what their mouths won’t. It doesn’t sit right in Sienna’s gut not telling Willow her son’s whereabouts, but there’s something particularly unsettling about CJ wanting to leave the house that badly in the first place. 

“A’ight, bruh,” Erik agrees. “We got a room for you.” 

“God, thank you, guys. I’ll figure out how to pay y’all back—”

“Nah, don’t worry about that. You family.” 

CJ smiles at Erik and nods. “Really, thank you.” 

Sienna hands her weapon over to Erik and nods towards the staircase. “Put these away and find something for him to sleep in while I make this boy something to eat,” she orders him, as she opens the fridge.

Her tone suggests something deeper than a meal is to come. Erik doesn’t comment on it when he exits the kitchen and ascends the stairs, leaving just Sienna and her godson. 

“Sit.” 

CJ quickly plops into a random seat at the kitchen table and if he’s honest, he’d rather get this talk from Erik rather than Sienna. 

“What you want to eat?” she asks, peaking in the fridge for ingredients. 

“Uh, I don’t know,” he answers and lowers his head. “Sisi, are you mad at me?” 

Sienna sighs, staring down a bottle of barbecue sauce before turning to face CJ. “I’m not mad at all,” she reassures. “I’m just tryna figure out what the hell is going on. You know you can call me to come over anytime, don't you?”

“Yeah.” 

She shuts the fridge and looks into the freezer. “Do you?” 

“I just didn’t wanna bother you guys.” 

Sienna pulls out a packet of frozen chicken and turns the sink faucet to the hottest temperature to thaw it. “Yeah, I get that, but you can’t do this again, you know that. People are fully within they rights to kill randoms that try and break in they shit. You lucky Erik wasn’t in the mood to shoot a nigga tonight.”

“I won’t do it again,” CJ promises, focusing in on his hands twiddling among themselves in his lap.

“You better not.” Sienna plugs the rice cooker into the wall outlet, fills the bowl with water, and scoops in a few cups of Jasmine rice all while watching CJ. “So, tell me about this Jerome nigga.”

“I’m surprised my mama ain’t tell you. She complain about him all the damn time anyway.” 

Sienna remembers Willow mentioning a new man in passing, so she assumes that’s who CJ is referring to. 

“She might’ve,” Sienna says, adding a pinch of salt to the rice and stirring it before shutting the rice cooker and pressing buttons for respective setting. “But I wanna know from your perspective.” 

The awestruck way his face twists up makes it obvious he’s not used to being asked much about his opinion. He stumbles over his words for a second, restarting the same sentence over and over before Sienna stops him with a hand on his forearm. 

“Let’s start simple: do you like him?” 

CJ shakes his head. 

Sienna pokes at the frozen chicken with a knife. “Why not?” 

“He rude, always over at our house tryna make rules and bringing his snot nose, bad ass, lil’ sons around expecting me to watch them when he and Mama go out like I don’t have shit I wanna do. Oh, and when they argue, it’s the worst. They loud and—” he stops himself, eyes large and sad when he redirects them to the wall to avoid Sienna’s expression as he finishes his sentence. “I think he be hitting her, a-and I just don’t know what to do about it.” 

As expected, Sienna whips around and stares at CJ like he’d told her he’d seen an alien. “Hitting her?” she repeats, shutting the faucet off.

CJ nods.

Bracing herself and unsuccessfully willing every fiber in her to not get angry, Sienna sets her hands on her hips and slowly approaches the table. “Does he hit you?”

The boy hesitates under Sienna’s gaze, unsure how he should answer. Knowing his godmom, she’d rightfully freak out which makes for a whole lot more trouble he was hoping for than breaking into her house for food. His ashamed apprehension answers her question, but she needs to hear it from him before truly going off. 

“ _Calvin_ ,” she says. The use of his government does something weird to his nerves—she means business. 

“I m-mean,” he stammers. “ _Don’t_ get mad, but yeah, he did—”

That’s all she needs before she’s balling her fists and yelling for Erik. CJ hops out of his seat to stop her, but not even the fact that he’s taller than her now can change the concerned tone and disciplinary finger she puts in his face. 

“You are _not_ going back over there with him around, do you understand me, CJ?” she huffs and CJ tries his hardest to calm her down with both hands on her forearms and a pleading shake of the head. “I’m not fucking around.” 

“Sisi, it’s not that big a deal,” he says, but she’s not hearing any of it. “I’m old enough to take care of myself. It’s my mama I’m worried about.” 

“You only fifteen! I’ma talk to Willow about this shit. I’m not sending you back over there if he’s putting his hands on you—”

“Please, don’t tell E. You know he gon’ flip—”

“Tell E what?” Erik says, entering the kitchen. 

Sienna backs away and crosses her arms, skin crawling and forming rage goosebumps. Her expectant glare at the side of CJ’s face gets Erik’s eyebrows lifting. CJ can barely look Erik in his eyes when the man turns to him, waiting.

“I really don’t wanna talk about it right now,” CJ says. “Please don’t make me.” 

“I’m not gon’ make you do shit,” Erik says with a nonchalant shrug and then throws Sienna a secret look that translates to _what the fuck is going on?_

She answers with a clenched jaw. “CJ, go on up to the guest room and change for bed,” Sienna instructs. “I’ll let you know when the food is ready.” 

CJ nods and bounces upstairs with both Erik and Sienna watching after him and waiting until he’s out of earshot before speaking.

Sienna’s balled fists flex, itching to shoot someone now. “I don’t think we should let CJ go home tomorrow.” 

“Why?” he asks, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. 

Sienna turns the faucet back on and stares down the chicken like the cutlets personally offended her. “Don’t freak out,” she warns him. “He don’t want me to tell you, but Willow’s nigga been beating on them. He said it was only once, but it’s not gon’ sit right with me to take him back to that kinda environment especially if Willow not noticing.” 

Erik is silent at first, thinking to himself as he watches Sienna move about the kitchen. 

“I think it’s something deeper going on, but he not gon tell me no time soon,” she continues, taking a pan out from the cupboard under the stove. “I can’t even imagine how long the shit been going on.” 

“What should we do?” 

“That’s just it. I don’t know.” Sienna prepares the pan atop the stove while bouncing her knee and shaking her head. “I just don’t think he should go back anytime soon, and if that means staying with us then that’s what it is.”

“A’ight.” Erik nods. “We need to tell Will what’s going on if she don’t already know.” 

“And if she do, why she keeping him around?” 

“Maybe he paying her bills,” he suggests, hands is his pockets while he traipses across the kitchen to lean against the counter. “Who knows?” 

“It’s not like her if that’s the case.” 

Sienna turns to him and they stare at one another for a short moment before she gets flustered by his intense gaze and looks away. It’s something of a superpower for him to be able to do that without trying. 

“Wasn’t really imagining the night to go like this,” she admits with a chuckle. “I was hoping to get my back blown to hell, but I guess this is cool.” 

Erik joins the laugh and his bottom row of fronts gleam under the kitchen light. “Your silly ass.”

Sienna’s hand hovers above the pan to test its heat as she instructs him to get ingredients from the fridge and pantry. They go on cooking and talking like it’s a regular night, unsure of what else to say about the situation for lack of context. Erik believes just as strongly as Sienna does that there’s something else to the story, but it shouldn’t be pushed as of now. 

When the food is done, Sienna calls her godson down and begins cleaning the kitchen. Erik helps himself to a plate and CJ sits at the table, unintentionally engrossed in their dynamic. 

“Lemme get some,” Sienna demands, already stealing a piece of chicken right off of Erik’s plate much to his irritation and plopping it in her mouth. 

“That big ass pot of rice and chicken right there—” He pointedly glares at the stove then back at her. “And you still pick off my shit.” 

“I cooked it.”

“Get’cho own plate then!” 

“Your plate already made. Stop being rude.”

“Stop being greedy.”

Sienna pouts. “Oh, so you want me to starve?” 

“What do your spoiled ass even be talking about?” 

CJ giggles at them. “Y’all funny.”

“Nah, E be mean to me on the low,” she tells him and scoops rice onto a plate of her own. 

“Yeah, a’ight,” Erik grunts, tapping her ass playfully. “You like mean.” 

“Not in front of CJ, nasty-ass nigga,” she says, slapping his hand away with a coy grin. 

CJ swallows his mouthful and looks down at the plate. “My mom and Jerome used to be like y’all two,” he reveals casually with a shrug. “Then, I don’t even know. Shit wasn’t playful no more.” 

Sienna nods, chewing on a piece of chicken. “How long you say they been together?” 

“I don’t know.” He thinks about it. “Not long enough for him to be up in the house the way he be, though.” 

“When this nigga start beating up on you and Will?” Erik asks bluntly, and Sienna glares at him for the lack of sensitivity. 

“He been doing it to her for a hot minute now, and she pass it off as nothing, but…” The teenager shakes his head and exhales in shame. “I see the bruises all up on her arms and shit. I wanna do something, but I don’t know what.” 

“Shoot that nigga,” Erik suggests with assured finality and a nonchalant shrug to which Sienna shakes her head and rolls her eyes at the air. 

“Not every problem is solved by guns, E,” she reminds him.

One of CJ’s eyebrows flies up. “Y’all was gon’ shoot me, like, an hour ago.” 

“Well, smartie, we thought you was a whole burglar.” 

“Shit, you right. My bad.” 

Erik swallows another mouthful of food and points the end of his fork at CJ. “What your mamas do when he put his hands on you?” 

“She doesn’t know.”

“Well, what did you do?” 

“I don’t remember.” CJ looks down for the umpteenth time. “I cried a little though.” 

“Nothing wrong with crying,” Sienna tells him in the sweetest voice she can manage. “What led up to this?”

Although his expression reads reluctant, CJ meets their gazes and slumps over the table. “Mama been try’na get me into sports for a minute, and she thought it be a good idea for Jerome to teach me how to play basketball—” 

“I seen you play basketball, so Willow might as well hang that dream up—” Erik starts and Sienna mushes his face with her hand, effectively silencing him while she gestures for CJ to continue.

“And he got a temper. He impatient as hell and spent the whole time just yelling at me and shit when I wasn’t making shots. I got pretty fed up and told him I wasn’t tryna play anyway ‘cus I had a science project to finish, and then—” CJ grimaces. “He called me a faggot and smacked me.” 

Sienna’s eyes widen. “He called you a _what_?” 

“Shit,” Erik hisses under his breath. 

“Sisi, it’s okay,” CJ insists. “It was only once.” 

“I don’t give a _fuck_!” Sienna exclaims, slamming her plate down onto the counter. “This nigga don’t got no business putting his hands on you and on top of all that, he homophobic? The audacity of niggas! Nah, fuck that. He gotta die.” 

Sienna turns to Erik, arms crossed and lips pouted. “Shoot that nigga,” she commands, and despite the seriousness of the whole thing, he can’t help a giggle that slips out. 

“What happened to guns not being the answer?” he asks, making CJ giggle as well.

“Oh, so, alluva sudden you not in the mood to shoot a nigga? This a perfect opportunity!” 

“Silly ass.” 

“Sisi, I don’t think killing him gon’ fix anything,” CJ tells her. “I just needed to get away for the night, so could we please talk about this tomorrow?” 

Too angry to answer without yelling, Sienna just nods and makes her exit out of the kitchen and to the bedroom. 

  
\- -  
  


Alone with her thoughts, Sienna wonders if she should call Willow. 

She eventually decides against it, so not to break her godson’s trust, but it definitely gnaws at her insides. Being a victim and exposing her son to this level of abuse doesn’t sound like Willow, and that worries away in Sienna’s thoughts. What could her friend be going through that she’d let this happen? Why is it going unnoticed?

Her inner monologue distracts from hearing Erik enter the room, so she doesn’t notice his presence until he appears in the vanity mirror before her. 

“I tuck CJ in,” he says, laying out on the bed facing her. 

A tiny smile stretches along her face. “Can’t really imagine you tucking anyone in,” she admits and they make eye contact through the mirror. “Especially CJ grown ass.” 

“He a sensitive kid. I think he need that kinda shit right now.” 

“Still can’t imagine it.” 

“What you even talmbout? I tuck you in every night.” 

Sienna laughs and turns to face him in the vanity swivel chair. “It don’t count if we sleep in the same bed.”

“Says who?” 

“Says me.” 

“And who you?” 

“Who _you_?”

Erik rolls his eyes and suppresses a laugh. “I’m that nigga.” 

“That’s a hoe nigga line, so you belong to the streets.” 

“Yeah a’ight,” he murmurs and beckons her over with a nod. “C’mere.”

Erik’s large hands sit on Sienna’s waist as she stands between his legs, and they share another quiet moment. 

“I know you worried ‘bout him,” he says, breaking the silence. “I think you right, though, about him staying here.” 

“You really wouldn’t mind?” 

Erik shakes his head, zeroing in on a corner of the room in absent thought. “Be real with you, I been wondering ‘bout him since he ain’t been at the Outreach Center as often. I get he growing up and shit, but it really makes me think if that nigga had something to do with it.” 

“Them kids was already teasing him about you showing favoritism.” Sienna considers, twiddling a lock of Erik’s hair around her fingers. “Maybe it’s a whole bunch of stuff.” 

“Favoritism?” Erik repeats like the word is foreign and scrunches his face up. “I treat all them kids the exact same.” 

“Yeah, a’ight.” 

“And even if I do, it’s not ‘cus a you,” he explains. “CJ a good kid. He don't need to be going through that kinda shit.” 

“No kid does.” Sienna shakes her head. “What am I gonna say to Willow about all this?” 

Erik opens his mouth but then closes it. “I don’t even know, baby girl. It’s a lot of shit to cover.”

“Why do I have this feeling this not gon’ work out?” 

“Maybe it won’t.” 

“That’s the scariest part,” she scoffs, lowering herself to straddle his waist and plant nearly all her weight on top of him.

“If we gotta take him in until he has somewhere else he gon be safe at, I’m with it if you are.” 

Sienna runs her nails over his bumpy arms and stares off at nothing in particular. “He has his grandma, Willow’s mama, but she stay down in Arizona.”

“That’s a big move.” 

“But it’d be the safest place for him though. If Willow don’t wanna leave her dude, it’s no use helping her if she don’t wanna be helped. CJ got a chance, and it wouldn’t be doing anyone justice if we just sent him back to her and hope he won’t do anything else to him.” 

“Yeah, you right.” 

“I do think you should kill that nigga though.”

“I don’t got no problem with that.”

Sienna smirks and pecks his forehead. “Yeah, but I don’t need you to be going to jail and shit, so that’s a nah.” 

“Aw, you gon’ miss me?” 

“I might,” she snickers and moves his hair from his face to kiss him again. “Fuck around and lose your pretty ass to one of them big, burly-ass niggas that be on the yard looking to make someone they bitch.” 

“Yeah, I don’t know ‘bout all that,” Erik disagrees. “I’m not being nobody’s bitch.” 

“Yeah, ‘cus you already mine.”

Without a second of hesitation, Erik pinches one of Sienna’s squishy love handles and tosses her to the side, leaving her in a heap of laughter next to him.

“I’mma do something about that smart mouth,” he tells her. Subconsciously, he knows she’s right. If there’s anyone that has Erik wrapped around their finger, it’s Sienna.

“Aw, baby, don’t be like that,” she snorts, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pecking his temple now. “You know I’m playing.” 

“Call me another bitch again and see what I do,” he threatens, but the empty warning goes in one ear and out the other. 

Sienna rests her chin on his shoulder and watches their reflections in the vanity mirror across the room. 

“I want CJ to stay here with us,” she admits. 

“I do, too.”

“We not doing too much too soon, are we? I mean, we haven’t even talked to Will yet.” 

Erik shrugs. “It depends on CJ.” 

“He not gon’ wanna leave his mama.” 

“He left her tonight.” 

“He wants to help her. I wanna help her and we should but…” She drops the sentence, but he finishes it. 

“We can’t if she don’t wanna be.” 

“She ain’t never had good taste in men,” Sienna exhales and continues running her nails over Erik’s arms. “I personally think she still in love with CJ’s father, but who knows where his dumbass is even at?”

Erik hums in agreement and nods. “We should head over there early tomorrow.” 

“You should bring your piece in case we do gotta shoot that nigga, though.” 

“What happened to me in jail being someone’s bitch?” he jokes, turning to look up at her and getting a peck on the forehead.

“Nah, you not gon’ go out like that,” she says, grinning. “But if I gotta go, I’m giving myself up to the biggest bitch in there.”

Erik laughs, his wide shoulders bouncing. “You dumb.” 

“I’m hella serious. I don’t care. Let me be someone’s wife ‘cus I’m not tryna get shanked or none of that.” 

“Just as long as you know that ass belong to me when you get out,” he says, standing to his feet to climb over top of her the way he had earlier in the night. She complies and lays back, instinctively opening her legs for him to settle his weight. 

“Ooh, you so possessive.” 

“Mhmmm,” he hums, eyes creeping below his lashes to stare at her like before. In the middle of her flustered giggles, she rests her hands on his sides and nips his bottom lip. 

“It’s so weird,” Sienna whispers. “Will was only a sophomore when she had him and when she made me his godmom, I ain’t really think nothing serious of it. I thought I be, like, a glorified auntie that spoil him, you know? But now, it’s different from when he was born. I thought once he grew up, he wouldn’t be needing me anymore, but I guess he still does.” 

“It make sense. He wouldn’t go to anybody else even if he could.” 

“You think so?” 

“Mhmmm,” he agrees and smacks a loud kiss to her lips. “You a whole mom, lowkey. Them kids at the Center love when you come around.” 

“Yeah, ‘cus that’s the only time you be nice to them.” 

“I _am_ nice.”

“Okay, _Killmonger_.” 

Erik shifts his weight and heaves her forward to sit in his lap as she had before. “We need a nickname for you,” he says, laying back on his elbows.

“You got hella nicknames for me.” 

“Yeah, I guess I could call you Thickums on a top secret CIA mission to kidnap the Queen of England,” he replies with such disinterest that she _almost_ misses the sarcasm. 

“Okay,” she utters, nodding as she scrambles her brain for something clever. “Instead of Killmonger, I could be Kill _mama_.”

“What kinda Instagram fanpage, bullshit name is that?” 

Sienna swats his shoulder to stop his snickering and then crosses her arms over her chest. “Fine then, smartass, _you_ come up with something.” 

In the midst of thinking, his hands find their way to cupping her backside and squeezing to the beat of the _NCIS_ theme song playing from the television. 

“The Godmother,” he suddenly says, obviously very proud of his suggestion by the goofy grin on his face. “Like The Godfather _with titties_.”

She considers it for a brief moment and makes a contemplative trilling sound before nodding off to the side in agreement. “Killmonger and The Godmother sound like some kinda _Adult Swim_ shit.” 

“It sounds like porn.” 

“Yeah, your lil’ nasty ass would think so.” 

“I fucks with it, though. That maternal shit you be on,” he admits, massaging his hands deeper into the soft tissue of Sienna’s halfway exposed cheeks. “Seeing you take care of them kids make me wanna getcho lil’ goofy ass pregnant.”

“Hood niggas always talking about getting somebody pregnant. Can’t ever say no normal shit like _‘oh, babe, I think you’d be a great mom,_ ’ or _‘I think we should start trying for a family,’_ or _‘I wanna have a baby._ ’ Is that so hard?” 

“Nah, it’s not.” Erik’s eyes travel lecherously over the expanse of Sienna’s curvy torso and then back to her face. There’s a sincere twinkle in the corner of his usually hard eyes, and that’s all it takes to let her know he’s serious when he announces, “I wanna have a baby.” 

Without a moment of hesitation, Sienna gasps with a startled squeak and swiftly removes herself from on top of Erik to head for the door. Simultaneously, her adrenaline and heart rate spikes, goosebumps scatter all over her limbs, and the hair on the back of her neck stands at attention. The drop in her stomach to her groin is enough to make saliva gather in her mouth as though she’d vomit, but she fights doing so.

They are definitely _not_ having that conversation right now. 

“I’mma go check on CJ,” she tells him and scurries down the hall to the guest room before he can say anything.

Just as she suspects, CJ is awake when she knocks and asks to be let in. 

“Can’t sleep?” Sienna asks, curling up to him at the head of the bed, wrapping a hand around his arm and resting her head on a plush throw pillow.

He shrugs, staring up at the rotating ceiling fan. “I thought I would be able to with some peace and quiet, but here I am: _wide awake_.” 

“You and E talk about anything interesting?”

“Just guy stuff.” 

“Hmm,” she hums.

“ _You_ and E talk about anything interesting?”

“Oh, you got jokes.”

CJ snorts. “We actually talked about you a little.” 

She blinks a few times. “I’m ‘guy stuff’?” 

“He was just telling me stories about you and my mama,” he explains. “Did you guys really skip school and steal your mom’s credit card to get tickets to a Chris Brown concert?” 

“I didn’t think he was even listening when I told him that.”

“Chris Brown, though?” 

“It was before he turned into Ike Turner and shit.” Sienna chuckles at the memory. “It was actually me, Will, and this other girl I had a lil’ crush on. It was her birthday and I wanted to impress her, so I stole my mom’s card, told Will’s mama that it was okay we were skipping school so she’d take us to the mall to go buy tickets, and when we got there, your Auntie Vee was there and boy, she was _big_ mad.”

“Grandma snitched on you?”

Sienna nods. “I’m pretty sure my Dad is the reason she didn’t kill me. He thought it was kinda hilarious actually.”

“So, what happened after?”

“Punishment for about two weeks, didn’t go to the concert, and me and the girl ain’t even talk again until high school,” she replies, shaking her head with a fond laugh at her past shenanigans. “Damn, I was dumb.”

They lay in a comfortable silence for what feels like forever, and Sienna is sure he’s finally on his way to sleeping until his deep voice disturbs the dark. 

“When did you know, like, _first_ know you weren’t straight?” 

“Well, I’ve known I wasn’t for so long, I don’t know if I can remember,” she realizes aloud, glancing over at him before redirecting back to the ceiling. “It was early, though. Maybe when I was around eleven or so. Why?” 

CJ remains silent and this time, she checks to see if he’s actually asleep. He’s already looking back at her. 

In that look, everything that needs to be said is said. 

It makes his story from earlier make that much more sense.

She offers him a soft smile. “You know I’m gonna love you regardless.” 

“What’s my mama gon’ think?” 

Given everything that she knows now, Sienna truly does _not_ know. She could lie and say she does, but she couldn’t bring herself to, especially CJ of all people. 

“What do you think?” 

“I think Jerome would kick me out if he knew,” he admits. “I think he suspects it just a little, and that’s probably what he and my mama fight about most.” 

“First of all, it’s not his house to be kicking you out of anyway.” 

“Yeah, but that’s not gon’ stop him.” 

Sienna should really let Erik shoot this nigga. 

“Do you even wanna go home tomorrow?” 

CJ’s shrugs his large shoulders, never losing focus of the ceiling fan. “I don’t know.” 

“Yes, you do.” 

“Okay, _no_ ,” he huffs, smacking his teeth as he does. “I really don’t wanna go back, even if Jerome not there. Even when he gone, Mama be on one.” 

“What does she do?”

“She’s just been acting like him lately. She don’t be calling me names or hitting me, but it be the little things like forcing me to learn sports and quit theater, making me cut off some of my friends who are out, and going through my stuff. It’s gotten to a point where I can’t even breathe without one of them thinking I’m doing something I’m not supposed to.” 

This sounds nothing like the Willow Sienna knows.

“Have you told anyone else?” 

“I ain’t think anyone would be listening.” 

That’s one of the most heartbreaking things she’s ever heard, and she can’t help the waver in her voice when she speaks again. “I’m here if you need someone to talk to.” 

“I would’ve told you sooner, but I ain’t wanna bother you or E.” 

“It’s no bother if that’s what I’m here for,” she assures him with a kiss on his cheek and gets to her feet. “Erik and I love you. Our door is always open. Now get some sleep, and we gon’ work all this shit out tomorrow.”

“Night, Sisi,” CJ grumbles, yawning. “Thank you. I love you.”

Sienna shuts the door behind her with a quiet click, and wishes in vain for Erik to be asleep when she enters the bedroom. Of course, he’s still awake on his phone and laying in the same position when she left.

“How is he?” 

“Should be sleeping soon,” she answers shortly and immediately retreats to the closet to avoid being on the receiving end of Erik’s expectant glare. It doesn’t matter to him that it’s nearly one in the morning. If he wants to talk, they will talk.

“You hiding,” he announces, matter of fact as he leans on the closet entrance threshold. 

Goosebumps form again at the sound of his voice, but she ignores them and the way her insides plummet again in favor of cleaning up her half of the closet. He watches her closely, noticing minute mannerisms like the unusual way she trips over herself and refusal to even look in his direction. 

“Huh?” she says, but he smacks his teeth.

“Huh?” he imitates her put-on cluelessness and makes his way to lean over the island. “Ain’t nobody dumb. Why you hiding?” 

“I’m just cleaning the closet, E.”

“I been asking you to organize this bitch for months, and you doing it now?”

“No time like the present.” 

“So, we just gon’ ignore what I said earlier?”

Sienna tries to occupy herself with finding the match to a pair of her favorite Saint Laurent pumps, but it’s hard to focus with Erik’s presence looming above her. She doesn’t respond, so he takes it upon himself to fill the silence.

“I shouldn’t have put that on you while we dealing with CJ right now,” he says, managing to actually sound apologetic. “It just came out, a’ight?” 

At a loss for words and totally unaccepting that Erik actually wants to have _this_ talk, Sienna just shakes her head and huffs under her breath.

“So, you not gon’ talk to me?” 

Sienna finds the other pump and sets the pair off to the side, trying her damndest to ignore him as if that will make him just walk away. But this is Erik—he’d never make anything that easy. 

He watches her shuffle about for another handful of minutes and intervenes with her progress by stopping her in her tracks with his frame. 

“E, c’mon, move. I gotta find somewhere to put these—”

“Why don’t you wanna talk about having a baby?” he demands, arms crossed and stance hard. She stares back up at him in awe, mentally processing the words he’s saying with little to no success.

They’ve already talked about this before… _kinda_. Granted, there was no resolution to any of those conversations, but they did talk about it. 

So, why bring it up again? 

Despite her anxiety, she gives in. “Why do you wanna talk about this alluva sudden?” 

“It’s not alluva sudden,” he corrects her. “I been thinking about it for a long time and just never said anything.”

“How long is a long time?” 

Erik shrugs and throws a hands up and around to help him think. “All that shit your aunties was talking ‘bout at the family reunion got me wondering—”

“You been thinking about this shit for damn near _a whole year_ after you told me not to trip off of what they was saying?” she interrupts abruptly. 

“Okay, shit, yes,” he admits and then groans. “Well, _no_. I was thinking about it a little bit before that. My birthday, actually.” 

She cannot believe what she’s hearing. “Your birthday,” she repeats. “ _What the hell_?”

“It’s _not_ a totally crazy idea.” 

“We’re _not_ ready.” 

“ _You_ not ready.”

“You damn right I’m not!” she exclaims and leans over the island to bury her face in her hands. “God, E, what the hell are you even doing?” 

“Princess, _relax_. You acting like a nigga said we gotta go out and have a baby tomorrow. We just talking.”

“This shouldn’t even be a discussion, actually. You talking nonsense.” 

Erik glares at her like she's grown several heads and quirks up an eyebrow upward. “Why is you acting like this?” 

“Why do you even wanna have a baby, anyway? Huh?” she demands, lifting her head and gesturing to him. “We’re fine as we are—just us two.” 

“We are,” he agrees with a nod. “I didn’t say nothing about us.”

“Then why do you wanna fuck it up?” 

“If you think a baby gon’ fuck up what we got, then maybe we not as fine as you think.” 

Sienna blinks at him owlishly. He got her there. 

“We just talking,” he reminds her. “It could be years from now that this happens, but I just wanna lay some stuff down about it in the event we do end up pregnant.” 

“That’s _not_ gon’ happen,” she assures him and continues cleaning up her clothes and shoes so as to distract from the disappointment in Erik’s expression. “I don’t wanna talk about it, and we don’t need to talk about it if it’s not gon’ happen.” 

“Why?” 

“‘Cus dammit, E, I _don’t_ want a baby!” she confesses, tossing a top to the side frustratedly. 

“That’s obvious.” 

His smugness irritates her that much more. “God, I didn’t want a baby three years ago, and I damn sure don’t want one now,” she mumbles just loud enough for him to catch it and stop him in his tracks. 

“What did you say?” 

“Huh?”

“What happened three years ago?” 

She stops now too, only now realizing what she said. “ _Fuck_.”

Both eyebrows fly up now with an inquisitive scowl to match. “ _Fuck_?” he repeats with emphasized confusion. 

“It’s nothing,” she says quickly and keeps her back to him. “I mean, I ain’t say nothing.” 

“Nah, what was that shit about three years ago then?”

“I said it’s _nothing_.”

“You know how I feel about that lying shit,” he growls, nudging her arm to get her to face him and she does so reluctantly. “What you hiding from me, little girl? And you can quit with them puppy eyes ‘cus I’m not letting up.”

“Can’t we just drop it?” she pleads, desperate to end the conversation. 

“Nah.”

“ _Erik_.”

“Sienna.”

She doesn’t like the sound of that at all, and it shows by the grimace on her face. “I’m not doing this right now. This conversation is over.” 

“Why, ‘cus you caught up?” he persists. 

“It’s nothing! You making it more than what it is like you usually do.” 

“Oh, so we deflecting now.” 

“Ain’t nobody deflecting.” 

“Then tell me why you said what you said. What happened three years ago that has to do with you not wanting a—” 

He stops himself, and if it were possible, a lightbulb would turn on over his head. He points to her and wags his finger like a detective who solved a who-done-it, stalking towards her. 

“Tell me,” he urges sternly, shaking his head. “And do _not_ lie.”

“E, baby, it really is nothing.”

“I don’t care,” he says again. “Tell me the truth. _Now_.”

Sienna gulps. _Shit_. 

“Okay,” she starts, turning away and fidgeting with her hands. “So, like I said, it was three years ago. We’d only been living here for, like, six months, I was switching birth controls at the time ‘cus you know the old brand made me sick all the time and my OBGYN hadn’t refilled my new prescription. I remember we was off the Henny that one night, so yeah, my period was MIA that next month.”

Erik exhales loudly. “A’ight.” 

She takes that as her cue to go on. “I was feeling sick, sore, and miserable, so I took a pregnancy test that came up positive. I went to the doctors to be sure, and yeah, a bitch was about five weeks along but the reason why no one could tell was ‘cus of my fupa! So, Ayesha and I went down to Planned Parenthood, and… yeah.”

He doesn’t say anything at first, and his expression is hard to read. She can’t tell if he’s angry, sad, or fuck, maybe even relieved. Either way, she doesn’t like it, and for some reason, she can’t help herself from continuing to fill the silence.

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I definitely wanted to tell you, baby, but I just didn’t know how. And it’s not like I did it ‘cus I didn’t wanna have your baby. I did.” She bites her bottom lip nervously. “I still do. Just not now.” 

“Why?”

“We not ready.”

He stands there, waiting for her to elaborate.

“I’m turning twenty-six this year, and there's some shit I wanna do before I’m thirty that would be on pause if we had a baby,” she explains, unsure if he’d take kindly to being touched since all she wants to do is wrap herself around him. “Like how I was telling you I wanted to open my own hair salon downtown. And I wanna travel. I wanna go anywhere in the world I want without having to be tied here. And when all is said and done, when I’ve got myself together, and maybe there’s a ring on my finger, it’ll happen.” 

“You ain’t never tripped off a ring.”

“The ring not for us. I know we gon’ be straight regardless,” she replies confidently. “In the event that we do have babies, getting married will be more for them than us, you know?”

“Getting married ‘cus we got kids seem a little old fashioned. I mean, I thought getting married was for being in love and wanting to do this shit for life. All that lovey dovey shit your mom and pops be talking ‘bout.”

“They not wrong, but everything changes with a baby, and I don’t want anything to change right now,” she admits, bashfully hiding her flushed hot cheeks by looking down. “I’m selfish in that way ‘cus I don’t wanna share you no time soon. It sound childish, but I just wanna enjoy us as we are for as long as possible.” 

Erik considers this and wraps his arms around Sienna’s shoulders, bringing her into his chest. Instinctively, her arms lock around his middle. 

“So, the baby talk is on pause.”

She nods, rubbing her cheek right against his pectoral. “For now.” 

“A’ight,” he agrees. “Let’s just get married then.” 

_Fuck_. 

Sienna pulls away to grimace up at him with her arms crossed as an orchestra of emotions swirl around the edges of her frame. The way her heart soars at the sound of him, the absolute love of her life, saying that is what she’d imagine a drug addict feels when they reach that specific high they risk everything for.

“What?” he says.

“What has gotten into you?” she demands, randomly moving her strewn belongings around to release pent-up energy while he watches with an amused smirk. “Why you all sensitive tonight? You acting like me! I might’ve fucked around and accidentally put some ecstasy in the chicken ‘cus you on one tonight. Talking about babies and getting married and a bunch of other dumb shit. I bet you wanna file taxes together and shit, huh? Ooh, I bet you wanna, what, open a joint bank account? Ooh, you wanna decorate a nursery? Plan a wedding? Wait, I bet you wanna get yourself a ‘dad chair,’ too. _I can’t stand you_.

“The motherfucking audacity. Damn near four years together and you wanna be on some serious shit. Ruining everything, just like a nigga! You wanna trap a bitch, that’s what it is! I should’ve just left your ass alone, but my goofy ass had to be all turned on by some gold chains and a matching grill and the fact that you keep a strap on you,” she huffs all at once, pacing and pointing a finger in his face, doing her best to appear intimidating even though Erik is incapable of ever feeling such a thing. 

Despite her confused rant, he still looks like he’s having the time of his life seeing right through her misplaced frustrations. 

“Are you done being mean?” he asks calmly. 

“I don’t know.” She pauses to think about it and pouts her huge lips. “Actually, fuck you.”

Erik barks out a single laugh. “So, I take it you not fucking with my proposal?”

“You call _that_ a proposal?” 

“Fuck I look like getting on my knee?” 

Sienna rubs tiny circles into her temple. “What the fuck is this conversation even about?” she groans.

“You had a meltdown, I know that much.” 

“Actually, big head, _you_ started talking crazy with all the having kids and getting married nonsense and got my hormones all fucked up,” she accuses, sniffing a top and tossing it to the dirty clothes pile.

“That’s just a cute way of saying you a big ass baby, witcho childish ass,” he snickers. “Besides, we dead that already. No baby talk right now. But…” He shrugs. “I think we should get married before anything else. I be calling you my wife anyway, so it makes sense.” 

Her heart flutters again. _Damn him._

“It’s kinda funny how I never thought I’d hear you say that,” she admits with a scoff, hanging a shirt on a hanger and tucking it away. “Like, it sounds so weird coming out your mouth. I ain’t think you liked me that much.” 

“I ain’t think you liked me either,” he jokes, grinning to the side. “I’ma get you a nice big ring, but I’m not kneeling, though.” 

“A girl could only dream.” 

He continues to watch her, already imagining in his head how he’d pop the question properly. 

“You coming to bed?” 

“Now that I’ve started it, I kinda wanna actually clean this shit up.” 

“Bet.” Erik walks over and kisses the top of her head. “Don’t stay up too much longer.” 

She nods briefly, staring down at a pile of random clothes. “Can I ask you something first?” she says, stopping him before he can exit the closet. 

The butterflies fluttering around in her stomach bat their wings double time as she gears up to speak. “When did you realize you wanted to, you know, marry me?” 

His knuckles knock a random beat on the wall as he rummages through his thoughts. “I been gone off you for so long I can’t even remember,” he starts. “But if I had to really think about it, ironically enough when we first moved in. Shit felt natural.”

Warmth pools in replacement of the butterflies. “That long?”

“Yeah.” 

She puts on her best conceited and smug grin to mask her delight. “Simp.” 

Erik rolls his eyes and snorts. “Girl, fuck you.” 

Sienna laughs too, and he leaves her to finish cleaning.

* * *

Some hours later, the sun is barely rising, and Erik is already awake and prepping for a workout. Sienna, half awake and exhausted from being up so late, lays on her side, hazily following his every move around the room.

“Kaleah,” she announces suddenly. 

He quickly glances over at her from tying his shoe. “Huh?” 

“I like that name for a baby girl. Kaleah. K-a-l-e-a-h.” 

“You think of it yourself?”

“I think so,” she says through a loud yawn. 

“Hmmmm,” he hums. “I like it.” 

And just like that, as though the day ahead won’t be the most trying either of them have ever faced, she’s sleeping once again. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love HalcyonSeasons.

Sienna’s thumb hovers over Willow’s contact. 

_ Shit _ . 

The script in her head still doesn’t sound right after going over it what feels like a million times. She never thought she’d ever be in the position to confront Willow about something like this. 

It just doesn’t make sense. 

CJ has been the light of Willow’s life since the day he was born. What hold did Jerome have over her that suddenly changed that? The girl Sienna knew would’ve never let anyone, let alone some  _ nigga _ , get between her and her son. 

That’s not even taking in account the abuse being inflicted upon her either. 

Sienna exhales, pressing the call button without processing her actions. Before she knows it, the call connects and she stares down at the device like it made the call by itself. 

“ _ Biiiiiitch _ ,” Willow greets cheerfully. The familiarity breaks a portion of Sienna’s heart given that, deep down, she knows nothing will be the same after today. “Tell me why I was about to call you, blood.”

“Yeah?” she replies. 

“Yes, hoe,” she says. “I’m tired of being up in the house. I hope Miss ‘Rona not gon’ keep us cooped up much longer ‘cus cha’girl needs to get the fuck. I done bought all these damn dresses off of Fashion Nova having hella sales and nowhere to wear the shit to.” 

“Yeah, we should pop out soon.” 

Willow pauses and sucks her teeth, but a smile still remains in her tone. “Why you sound so sad, girl? E do something? I’ll jump that nigga, on God.” 

Sienna shakes her head and adjusts her position on the rim of the bathtub. “Oh, um, nah. He’s good. We’re doing really good.”

“Well, damn, what’s wrong? Your parents okay?”

“Yeah, they good, too,” she says. “How can you tell something’s wrong?” 

“C’mon, bitch, I been knowing you since you was a toddler. It’s all in your tone. Now, c’mon. Tell Will wassup.” 

Sienna inhales and huffs out shakily. “You know where CJ at?” she finally asks, swiftly rubbing along her face to alleviate nervous energy. 

“Yeah, he in his room.”

“You sure?” 

“... _ Yeah _ ?” 

Sienna’s knee acquires a mind of its own and begins bouncing. “He came over here yesterday and spent the night,” she informs her. 

Willow doesn’t say anything at first, but the sound of movement causes Sienna to picture her friend shuffling down the end of their main hallway to CJ’s room and throwing the door open. 

“What the fuck?” she muses. “Shit, I thought I heard him walking around and getting breakfast just half an hour ago.” 

_ Might’ve been your no-good-ass nigga.  _ “Nah, Will, he been here.” 

“Yo, Sisi, I’m sorry ‘bout if he bothered you,” she apologizes nonchalantly. “I can come get him.” 

“It’s a’ight. He ain’t bother nobody,” Sienna insists. “We can bring him, and real talk, girl, we gotta talk ‘bout some shit anyway.” 

“This not like him to up and leave,” she continues. “He  _ has  _ been acting out lately, though, so I can’t say I’m really surprised anymore. I don’t know what getting into him.” 

_ Neglect, maybe.  _

“I don’t know,” Sienna utters. “We’ll be there around noon, a’ight?” 

“Yeah, girl, I’mma see you.” 

It’s unlike Sienna to hang up without saying goodbye, but being on the phone and pretending everything is okay with her feels wrong and dishonest. 

This whole situation is fucked. 

“Nothing good gon’ come out of this,” Sienna declares as Erik enters the bathroom. 

“I miss when you was the optimistic one out of us two,” he says, turning on the faucet and leaning towards the mirror to start his skin routine. “What happened to that?”

“I found out my best friend and her son be getting they asses tossed around by some Deebo-ass nigga,” she replies, rising from her spot to set her phone on the counter. “You might get what you wanted all along.”

“I said I wanted _ a baby _ ,” he corrects her, scrubbing lemon-scented face wash across his nose with the rubber exfoliating pad. “This shit might not be good for a while, but at least we did something about it.” 

“Who knows how this shit gon’ go?” 

“We just gon’ have to do it to find out.” 

Sienna nods, idly scratching her face for a moment before Erik swats her hand away. 

“This the fifth time you done touched your face,” he tells her. “You  _ nervous  _ nervous.”

“I’ve never done no shit like this before.” 

Erik rinses his face off and pats it dry with a towel, staring at his reflection in the mirror.    
“You wanna know why I fucks with you?” 

Sienna cocks her head. “Do tell.” 

“You just ain’t never been scared of nothing,” he tells her, shaking up a bottle of toner, dabbing a few drops onto a cotton ball, and applying it to his face. “Ever since the day I met you, you had this gangsta way about you that turned a nigga on. You ‘bout that family shit, and you not gon’ let nobody fuck with yours. It’s hard to come by nowadays.”

Her eyebrow quirks upward. “You f’real?”

“Yeah,” he says, tossing the damp cotton ball into the trash and turning towards her. “I know you scared, and it’s a’ight that you are. But the main thing is, you doing what’s right. Hero type shit. You  _ always  _ do what’s right. That’s just the Sienna thing to do. Shit, if we lived out East, your ass would be a goddamn Avenger.”

“I just need a superhero name, I guess.” 

“The Godmother not good enough?” 

“That’s my mob name. If I’mma be fighting aliens and shit with the Avengers, I need a cool superhero name so the public know me.” 

“Them niggas got stupid-ass names like Captain America, and you think The Godmother not gon’ fit? Black Widow not even black.” 

“You dumb,” she mutters under her breath, fighting back a chuckle. “You ain’t gotta do my mans Cap like that.”

“Yeah, well tell your boyfriend change his name so I won’t have to go in on him.” 

She rolls her eyes playfully, hip checking him out of the way of her mirror despite the dual sink set-up. “You ever meet him?” she asks, turning the faucet back on to start her own skin care routine. 

“Nah, but T’Challa and them rave about his patriotic ass all the damn time. Couldn’t be me. You not gon’  _ ever _ catch me fangirling about some damn colonizer.” 

“Not even if that colonizer fought Nazis and saved the planet?” 

Erik regards her with an unimpressed deadpan expression to which she returns with a sly grin that translates to  _ see, I got you. _

He rolls his eyes and reaches across her for his moisturizer. “You think you funny.” 

“Not my fault you a hater.” 

“Yeah, a’ight,” he mumbles and checks the time on Sienna’s phone. “We gotta leave soon. Don’t be taking long to get ready.” 

“Find CJ something to wear,” she calls after him on his way out. 

“I don’t think any of my regular shit gon’ fit him.” 

“All them damn clothes and you can’t find something for his skinny ass,” Sienna utters to herself, lathering up the facewash to clean her face. “Just give him joggers and a shirt then.” 

“Maybe Captain MAGA can find him something.” 

“You’s a hater!” 

Eventually, Erik does find a pair of old khakis he hasn’t seen since moving in and a white long sleeve for CJ to change into. In the time it takes both of them to get dressed, Sienna still hasn’t decided what to wear. 

“Everything a fashion show with you.”

Sienna dips a pair of aviators she’s trying on low under her eyes to glance behind her at Erik. “I  _ am _ fashion.” 

“Girl, if you don’t put on some jeans, so we can go…” 

“Can you just let me find something to wear?” she snaps, tossing the glasses somewhere and setting her hands on her wide hips. 

“You stalling.” 

“And you annoying.” 

“I’m right, though.” 

Sienna grimaces and stares down at the disorganized piles of clothes despite having just cleaned them up merely hours before. “Okay, and?” 

“I know you scared, but it’s now or never. Remember you an Avenger and shit.”

“Is that your version of a pep talk?” 

His eyebrows fly up to his hairline. “You talking shit?” 

“Please, just help me get dressed.” 

Erik gives the room a once over with fast, searching eyes until they land on a pair of leggings and a hoodie. 

“Here.” He tosses the outfit, and she catches it with a scowl. 

“This is ugly.” 

“It’s clothes.” 

“It look like I’m going over there to fight.” 

Erik shrugs, hands up in blase fashion. “You never know.” 

“Ain’t nobody gon be doing all that, E.” 

“From what I heard, that nigga like to put his hands on people. Can never be too prepared.” 

Sienna nods in agreement even though deep down she knows he’s being his usual dramatic self. His dramatic self speaks the entire truth, but she doesn’t want to think so pessimistic before they’ve even left the house. 

“You bringing your lil’ water gun?” 

“I got a lil’ something in the trunk. If he wanna get crazy, we can get insane.” 

“It won’t come to that,” she asserts, but it falls on deaf ears.

  
  


Sienna can’t help staring out of the window at the passing sights of the city she’s grown so accustomed to. In reality, she thought she would’ve spent the rest of her life in Los Angeles, but the love she has for Oakland came out of nowhere. There’s still time to move back, if she could ever convince Erik. 

Even though he was born there, CJ’s real home is Oakland. All he’s ever known is Oakland since he was about five years old, and moving him anywhere other than here would be an injustice—even for his safety. 

Not if Sienna can help it.

“You a’ight, Thickums?” With one hand on the steering wheel and the other squeezing her meaty thigh under her olive green cargo pants, his eyes stay focused on the road ahead. 

“Yeah,” she answers, turning her head forward for a quick peek at the traffic before them and then back to the side. “Just thinking.”

“What about you?” Erik briefly glances through the rear mirror to address CJ, who looks like he might offer something thoughtful to say, as he stares out the window too. 

“I just remembered I forgot to save and shut down  _ The Sims  _ before coming to you guys’ house,” he replies, shrugging and shaking his head disappointedly. “All my niggas prolly dead, the whole house prolly ran through and CPS prolly took the baby. Sucks ‘cus I put a pool in the parent’s bedroom, and I don’t know, but that prolly got taken too.” 

Sienna cracks a smile while Erik rolls his eyes to the ceiling with a resistant grin of his own. 

  
  
  


Sienna and Erik standing like two bodyguards in front of CJ on the porch make for quite a sight to see when Willow opens the door. 

“Sisi!” Willow cheers upon seeing her friend, grabbing her by the middle to pull her in for a hug. Sienna actually manages a smile, but it wavers on sadness as she returns the affection with her arms over Willow’s very clearly bruised, bony shoulders. 

“Wassup, E?” Willow nods up at Erik after letting Sienna go and moving to the side to let them in. “How’s life treating you?” 

“It’s a’ight,” he answers gruffly. 

“Y’all don’t even know how sorry I am,” she says, zeroing in on her embarrassed son staring at the ground as she shuts the door. “He usually doesn't do this kinda shit.” 

That comment turns Sienna’s insides as they enter Willow’s stylish apartment and straight to the living room. CJ winces under Willow’s glare, sheepishly ducking off down the main hall to his bedroom. 

“I’m sure he ain’t mean to bother anybody,” she says once he’s gone and the two of them follow her lead, sitting on the loveseat. “I could only imagine how inconvenient that could’ve been.”

“Nah, girl, I told you we not trippin’,” Sienna replies quickly, and now that she really focuses, the bruises and scratches CJ had mentioned last night are prominent and obvious along her arms, creeping up her neck and over her shoulders. Erik must notice too because he and Sienna share one of their subtle looks where a quick glance says all that their mouths can’t, practically reading each other’s minds as they do. 

They have little intention of leaving CJ here. 

“He been doing the absolute most lately,” she continues, muting the television and getting comfortable on the arm chair with such oblivion that it makes Sienna’s blood boil. “I don’t know what’s been getting into him, but God knows I’m ready for it to be over. I think the kids he be around and shit been influencing him.”

Sienna nods to show she’s listening. “Hmmmm,” she hums, crossing her legs and placing her folded hands over her knee. “And you say he doesn't do this often, huh?” 

“Nah.” Willow shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “It’s been tough lately tryna get him to behave, but I just gotta chill ‘cus he a teenager and this the kinda shit they do.” 

“You try talking to him?”

“He don’t listen to shit we say, with his hard-headed ass.”

“ _ We _ ?” Sienna repeats. 

“Girl, I told you ‘bout me and Jerome,” she chuckles and absently rubs a healed over scab on her left elbow. “You ‘member the nigga that work for FedEx I met downtown? Yeah, we been going together for, like, six months.” 

“He move in yet?” 

“I been tryna get him to, but his old lady ain’t tryna let that ass go,” Willow admits, scoffing bitterly. “But trust me, that bitch crazy anyway, so it won’t be too long.” 

Erik shifts awkwardly, hands in his lap and looking down at the carpet in an oddly uncharacteristic display of discomfort. 

“So, he and CJ don’t get on that well, huh?” Sienna asks. 

Willow shrugs her shoulders. “Lord knows why. He a good nigga, but they just be going back and forth. On everything, it’s always a problem. Might be a testosterone thing, so I don’t get involved, but CJ gon’ have to learn to love him.” 

Without even meaning to, the comment gets Sienna’s blood to a fever pitch that would have her ears whistling and steaming if life was a cartoon. The shift in her demeanor is instantaneous, so her mouth decides for her brain that it’s time to stop being nice.

Deciding she’s heard all she needs to in such a limited time, Sienna smacks her teeth in disgust and regards Willow with a look to match. “There ain’t no way you  _ this _ goddamn oblivious.” 

Erik exhales and places a hand over his mouth to muffle a laugh. “ _ Shit _ ,” he mutters. 

“Oblivious?” Willow repeats incredulously.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, and you don’t even know it,” she goes on, scowling and enraged on her godson’s behalf. “You have no idea about what’s going on with CJ, do you?”

Willow stops, immediately defensive. “Fuck is you talking ‘bout?” 

“Did you ever think to really sit down and talk to him  _ without  _ your nigga to figure out what the hell is wrong? You know that boy hasn’t acted out a day in his life, and suddenly, out of the blue, he starts misbehaving?” 

Willow’s stance goes tense as she eyes the two of them. “He spent  _ one  _ night with y’all and you think you know something?”

“That’s all it took to know everything, Will,” Sienna informs her, twist-out waves bouncing as she shakes her head. “You need to be talking to him and checking your nigga.”

“ _ My _ nigga?” 

“Yes,  _ your  _ nigga.” 

“Bruh, what the hell you even saying right now? You don’t know him.”

“Do  _ you  _ even know him?”

“Sisi.” She waves off the question. “Where is this shit even coming from?” 

“It’s right in your face and you don’t see it because you don’t wanna see it, do you? Either he doing something to you that prevents you from seeing or you do know what the hell’s going on and you’re too scared to do anything about it. Am I right?” 

Willow cocks her head. “Ain’t nobody scared of shit, and I know how to handle  _ my _ household,  _ my _ nigga, and  _ my _ son. Who you to be coming up in here telling me what I’m doing wrong when you don’t know shit?” 

Sienna leans closer to Willow, elbows resting on her knees now. “Girl, ain’t nobody here is dumb, deaf, or blind. I don’t have to know to  _ know, _ ” she tells her, nodding to her bruises subtly. “I ain’t say you did shit wrong, but maybe it’s time for adjustments so that maybe CJ won’t supposedly act out and sneak out the house—”

“Did you just come over here to tell me how I’m a bad mom?” Willow interrupts, tone bordering on downright vicious. 

“No, Will! I—“

“Then what is it? What you tryna say? Just spit it out, Sisi, since apparently you know every damn thing.” 

Sienna blinks at her, practically shaking. “You know your nigga put his hands on CJ, right? Or did he not tell you that?” 

Willow exhales, pursing her lips in preparation to speak but Sienna continues. 

“CJ ain’t tell you that he called him a whole faggot too because he feels like he can’t. That’s not cool, like, at all. He shouldn’t be scared in his own home, and he especially shouldn’t be feeling like he can’t come to you, of all people, about shit that bothers him.”

Willow can’t meet Sienna’s eyes, and that lets all three of them know she’s right. Instead she folds her arms and puts on a tough face to avoid appearing weak. 

“He doesn’t like when you two argue, and I bet you don’t either. You don’t like getting beat on, do you?” 

“Girl, get the fuck on. Ain’t nobody getting beat. We play fight, and a bitch just clumsy.” 

Erik sighs, truly disappointed. 

“Okay, well, it’s not play fighting to CJ. He don’t need some grown ass nigga who not even his daddy hitting him. He don’t even wanna do sports! He likes theater, science fairs, and spelling bees and shit,” she explains. She uses her fingers for air quotes. “Okay, maybe it’s not the ‘manliest’ thing but it’s what makes CJ happy, so why are you trying to conform him to what  _ your _ nigga wants him to be? He’s manipulated you to the point that you think it’s okay for CJ to be treated like this.”

“You don’t know shit about my nigga, okay?” Willow reminds her, arms out in defense. “Nobody being manipulated, so leave the fucking psychological shit at home. Regardless, CJ prolly just needed some tough love. He don’t have any real male figures in his life, so this is good for him.” 

“You never thought to ask how CJ felt about it? There’s nothing good about being forced outta shit you love to do, so you can appease your mother and her ain’t shit, abusive ass boyfriend!” Sienna’s voice rises on its own accord before she can stop it. “How are you taking  _ his _ side over CJ’s?”

“I’m not gon’ tell you again: you don’t know him.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sienna assures her. “I don’t need to know him to know that he’s abusing your son and you haven’t been doing shit about it. If that’s how you take me calling you a bad mom, then fuck it.” 

The tone of the confrontation switches, and that’s how Erik knows shit is about to get real. He’s experienced Sienna be downright mean many times before, but never to this extent. Granted, it’s for a good reason, but he can’t help being shocked at the brutal honesty. 

Out of instinct, Willow’s voice rises by a beat, but she takes it a step further by bucking out of the arm chair. “You just gon’ believe every-fucking-thing that boy tell you?”

“What reason does he have to lie for, bruh? You going through mental gymnastics tryna make your nigga seem innocent, damn near invalidating your own blood, when you just need to come to grips with the fact that he’s no fucking good.” 

“Well, not everyone can land the prince of fucking Wakanda, Sisi,” she snaps sarcastically, gesturing to Erik who, for once, doesn’t know how to respond. “You worry about your nigga and his terrorist-ass blowing up countries for fun, and I’ma worry about mine since he’s  _ so _ terrible and  _ so _ abusive.”

“This not about him,” Sienna reminds her, involuntarily sitting forward to try and block Erik from view. “We talking about you and CJ.” 

“Nah, you sounding like you wanna discuss niggas so bad, so why don’t we discuss yours? Your nigga killed innocent people, but mine is the ain’t shit one? Your nigga prolly blew up a village of kids and you pressed over mine alledgedly hitting  _ one _ ? Are you crazy?” 

Sienna’s body locks up on her in its own special way of warning her not to swing on her best friend, even if she is being nonsensical. 

“That one is  _ your child. _ ” 

“CJ is  _ not _ a child. He’s practically grown.” 

“That don’t fucking matter!” Sienna finally yells, pointing a long, accusing finger at her. “Just ‘cus  _ you  _ like getting  _ your  _ ass beat and tossed around doesn’t mean CJ does!”

Seconds later, Willow leaps up and out of the arm chair, cursing her out with each angry stomp towards Sienna. Erik’s attempt to keep her seated is in vain because Sienna matches Willow’s energy, standing to tower over her and begin cursing her out just as loudly. It’s a mix of acrylics being pointed and neck rolling between the two of them, with no clear communication going on aside from “ _ bitch, this _ !” and “ _ bitch, that _ !” 

Erik watches them for a second, amused, surprised, and turned on by his woman’s boldness. She’s good at arguing so it’s not until a threat about Willow knocking Sienna out slips past him does he involve himself. Stepping between them and keeping his back to Willow does virtually nothing to pacify their screaming match. Sienna manages to get her point across over Erik’s shoulder even as he holds her back with an arm around her waist. 

It’s not unusual for two people who have known each other as long as they have to fight, but this is  _ serious _ . The women fling real insults and fighting words at each other, and neither of them hold back, digging deep to win and make it out victorious. The fact that neither of them has actually physically attacked the other yet surprises Erik. 

They’re both so caught up in each other that neither notice the half-asleep, burly, light-skin man littered with poorly done tattoos clad in raggedy pajamas stagger into the room with mean eyes and an ashy scowl. 

“Aye, yo, Will, what the fuck I tell you about all that loud shit during the day when I’m tryna sleep?” he thunders above both women, ceasing their yelling. 

“Baby, don’t worry about it,” she assures him with a hand up, shooting daggers at Sienna over Erik’s shoulder. “These niggas was just leaving.” 

“If you think we leaving  _ without  _ CJ, you out your motherfuckin’ mind,” Sienna barks, trying to get past Erik, but his large frame doesn’t allow it. She’ll thank him for it later, because if she had her way, she would’ve smacked some sense into her friend by now. 

“You not taking my son nowhere!” 

“Nah, who the fuck this bitch you got up in my house making all this damn noise?” the man—Jerome—demands, jerking Erik and Sienna’s heads in his direction with matching expressions of challenged disbelief. 

“ _ Bitch _ ?” they repeat simultaneously as though to test if he’ll say it again. 

Sienna, too quick for Erik, slips out of his reach to approach the man with an open hand ready to smack until she’s held back by Erik gripping her elbow, pulling her away, and using himself as another barrier between her and Jerome. 

“Lemme take my fucking earrings off and show you who a bitch!” she warns over Erik’s shoulder, adrenaline spiking at being so close yet so far from getting her way. Again, she’ll have to thank him. 

“Have you lost your mind, tryna fight my nigga?” Willow growls, standing in front of Jerome as though to protect him. 

“Oh, but it’s a’ight when this big-ass, fake The Game looking-ass nigga does it to CJ?” Sienna gestures down the hall to CJ’s room. 

“How would you know if you wasn’t there? Huh? Since you know every goddamn thing?!” 

“If you gave half a damn and prioritized your child over some other bitch’s husband then you’d know something too!” 

“You telling all our fucking business?” Jerome nudges Willow’s shoulder with more force than necessary, but she barely reacts when she turns with her hands up to calm him down. 

“Rome, don’t trip off what she saying,” she soothes in a baby sweet voice that turns Sienna’s stomach to hear. Sienna could continue on and ultimately make the situation worse, but instead she grits her teeth and allows Erik to shield her. This is going exactly and nothing how she knew it would. 

“What the fuck you been telling everybody?”

“She just buggin’ and she don’t know what the fuck she’s talking ‘bout.”

“Get this bitch and her nigga up out my house,” Jerome commands, stalking closer with fire in his eyes as he peers over Erik to meet Sienna’s gaze, but Erik doesn’t allow it. 

“Aye, I’mma advise you not to come no closer if you don’t want a problem,” Erik cautions in an eerily calm way that lets both Willow and Sienna know it’s about to get real. “ _ Don’t _ call my girl another bitch.” 

“Nigga, I know you not threatening  _ me _ up in  _ my _ house over some pussy. I’ll kill you and that bi—” Just as quickly as Jerome enters Erik’s personal bubble, he’s stumbling backwards with blood gushing from his nose and running down his chin and neck. 

The sight of it has Willow gasping and screaming like he’s been shot before she rushes to his side to do what she can to stop the bleeding. Jerome curses her out for the attempted aid, pushing her away with enough power that she impacts loudly against the wall. With her out of his way, he rushes for Erik to pursue the fight. 

Sienna tries worming around Erik again to actually beat Jerome's ass this time, but CJ appears what looks like out of nowhere to tackle him right to the ground. The thud of their combined bodies shakes the apartment in an echoing boom that rattles the pictures on the wall and dishes in the cabinet. 

Sienna, Erik, and Willow release a collective gasp and cry of shock as they process the image of CJ pummeling his frustrations out on Jerome’s face while the older man tries to get a lick in edgewise. 

“Don’t put your fucking hands on my mama!” CJ roars, punch after punch connecting with precision. “Bitch-ass nigga!”

Frozen in place, Sienna clutches her chest and backs away while Erik grabs CJ by his shoulders to pry him off of Jerome’s unresponsive body. Willow, hysterically and without surprise, lunges to get both Erik  _ and  _ CJ off of him even though he’s adamant about not wanting her help. 

“Have you niggas lost your minds?!” she screeches, kneeling over Jerome and ready to pounce if either of them comes too close. “What the fuck is wrong with  _ you _ ?” 

The question, although rhetorical, is meant for CJ, and he can only stare with vision blurred with tears at her and a bloody, bruised, and disoriented Jerome struggling to come to. She props Jerome’s head on her lap and removes her tank top to slow the bleeding coming from who only knows. 

A woman supporting and taking care of her man is natural. Out of context, Willow going to these depths to defend this man would be something for a romance novel. Sienna would tend to Erik a hundred times over, but she’d never be so blindly in love with him that it makes her turn her back on her own child. It’s heartbreaking, really; her friend deserves so much better, but she just can’t see it. 

CJ deserves better, but  _ she can’t just can’t see it.  _

“I want that lil’ nigga out,” Jerome babbles, trying to get up but Willow lays a hand on his chest to stop him. “You hear me, Will? He goes or I do. I swear I will.” 

“Baby, don’t say that,” she pleads, shaking her head and cupping his face. “C’mon, Rome, don’t do this—” 

Sienna shakes her head with a tut. How is it possible to be any more disappointed?

“Let’s get your stuff,” Erik decides, patting CJ’s back and swiftly helping him to his feet. 

“I already packed,” CJ admits, moving on wobbly legs back to his room to retrieve a stuffed duffel and backpack.

The house could be on fire, and Willow still wouldn’t look away from Jerome. If she notices Erik and CJ rushing out of the front door with multiple bags, she doesn’t acknowledge it. 

Sienna watches her friend and her pathetic boyfriend a while longer in utter amazement and disgust. It’s sad to witness. 

“You don’t have nothing else to say?” she asks. 

Willow wipes a tear from her cheek. “Sisi,  _ please _ .” 

Sienna takes that as her cue to go, hoping to whatever god is listening that they’ll make this better in the three seconds it takes for her to exit the apartment and shut the door behind her. She stands there for a moment, waiting for her face to tingle with tears but nothing happens. 

Erik and CJ are already buckled in and ready to go when she exits the building. The drive home is long and quiet save for some sniffles from the backseat. 

  
  


When they do get back to the house, they sit in the driveway for a quick beat after Erik kills the engine. 

“I’mma grab your stuff,” Erik says to CJ, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Just give y’all a minute.” 

Sienna waits until Erik has grabbed everything and disappears into the house before unbuckling herself to join CJ in the backseat. He doesn’t resist her arm looping around him to place his head on her shoulder or the tender pecks on his forehead. The tears fall silently and pained, but CJ shows no shame in shedding them while Sienna wordlessly comforts him. 

They don’t know how long they stay in the backseat grieving, but once they do make it into the house, CJ excuses himself to the guest room. There’s an urge within Sienna to spend the entire night with him, but she knows he needs time to himself.

Erik lays out on the bed, already in loungewear, like he’s ready for a much needed nap when Sienna enters their bedroom. She follows his lead, somewhat alleviated by stripping down to sweatpants and a short sleeve top. 

“C’mere,” he beckons her over and she obeys. There’s plenty of room on the mattress, but it doesn’t stop her from climbing on top of him and burying her face in the curve of his neck. His hands find a home around her torso to press her as close as their bodies will allow. 

“Is he okay?” he asks.

She shakes her head. 

A lone finger runs along her sides. “Are you?” 

She shakes her head again. 

“I’m sorry, Princess,” he mutters, pecking her neck. “I really am.” 

“How’s your hand?”

“It’s a’ight. Might be sore in the morning.” 

She nods. “Why do I feel like we fucked this up?” 

“Because we saved one but couldn’t save the other.” 

“I didn’t wanna leave her with him, E.”

“I know, baby girl.” 

She untucks her face from his neck to stare at the wall. Tears gather in her eyes and they fall into a tiny puddle on Erik’s chest when she tries to blink them back. 

Ultimately, they did the right thing, but it doesn’t stop the guilt. Maybe none of it wouldn’t have happened if Sienna just minded her business. 

Or maybe, CJ would've endured further abuse to the point where he wasn’t himself anymore and it’d be too late to intervene. 

It took no time for her to lose her best friend to some man who doesn’t deserve her. 

It took no time for CJ to lose his mom to some man who doesn’t deserve her. 

“You was really gon’ open hand slap that nigga.” Erik whispers, astonished. 

“I was, huh.” 

“That shit would’ve been disrespectful.” 

Sienna sniffles, wiping her face. “I guess so.” 

“Shit was sexy as fuck.” 

A tiny smile surfaces on her drooped expression. “Yeah?” 

“Mhmmm,” he agrees, kissing her forehead now. “You gon’ make a great mom.” 

Those words sink in deep now that it occurs to her that this is their reality. “Damn,” she huffs. “This already feels weird, doesn’t it?” 

“Yeah, it’s gon’ take a minute to adjust.” 

“You can’t cook naked no more.” 

“Goofy ass,” Erik snorts. “What’s the first thing we do?”

“If we doing this for real, we gotta get his documents at school changed. We need Willow for that, but—” She stops, biting her lip. “That’s gon’ be a while.”

“We should teach him how to drive.”

“That means we gotta get him a car.” 

Erik considers this. “He gon’ need clothes.” 

“Guess I’ll take him shopping tomorrow,” she replies and nods to herself. She considers the day they’ve had. “I’d do it again.” 

“I would too.”

They lay there in comfortable silence for another few minutes before Sienna heaves out a heavy sigh, plants a kiss on Erik's pectoral, and lifts her head to look at him. “You think me and Willow ever gon’ be friends again?” 

Erik pauses to ponder, twirling a stray curl around his finger and then pulling it just to see it spring back into place. “Well,” he starts and shrugs. “If me, T, and the other lil’ nigglet can be cool after I threw his ass off a waterfall, then yeah.”

“Hmmph. You did do that, didn’t you?”

“Shit happens.” 

That particular situation shouldn’t make her laugh, but his nonchalance brings upon a round of giggles that last longer than they should. In some weird and distant way, she believes him. 

She doesn’t dwell on it for too long, because if she does, she’ll cry again. 

  
  
  
  


By the following morning, much to Sienna’s glee, CJ is up for a shopping spree. Quality time is somewhat of a remedy for broken hearts in the Vermillion family, and she’s beyond ecstatic to actually dote and enjoy his company. 

She’s halfway down the stairs when she pats her pockets and digs around her purse for her phone only to remember it’s still upstairs on its charger.

“Hey,” she calls CJ and holds out her bag for him to take. “Left my phone upstairs. Just go wait in the car.” 

He does as he’s told and exits through the front door while she hops back up the stairs to the bedroom. The device is right where she left it charging on the nightstand and in the midst of making her way out, she calls out another goodbye wherever in the room Erik is. 

When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, the smooth timbre of his voice carrying from his office to the hallway stops her in her tracks. 

“I just know it’s been a minute since I called, and I was just checking on you,” he says, and Sienna follows the sound and listens right outside the ajar door to hear the rest. 

There are various pauses in between his mumbles of agreement that sound nearly submissive and very…  _ sweet _ . Very  _ un-Erik  _ like. 

“Yeah, Sisi and I doing good. You should come over soon. We really do miss you, Ma… no, I’m not lying… yeah, I know… yes, ma’am…” he goes on wistfully even if Krystal probably nags his ear off.

Sienna smiles to herself, walking away to enjoy the day with her godson.


End file.
